DICK CHRISTIAN'S LECTURE. 371 



just like a balloon. How pleased the Captain was, 

 to be sure ! 



There was no finer man than Colonel Wyndham; 

 few of the best of them could catch him for a mile, 

 for all his twenty stone. When they come to a gate 

 locked, he used to say, " I'll get my horse across it, 

 I'll smash it" ; and, my word, he did just. I've seen 

 them come to some tremendous great fence, and the 

 gentlemen would look about, and say, " We're 

 stopped ; where' s Wyndham ?" Up he'd come, and 

 smash it for them. What power he had ! he'd lift a 

 horse right up and over such places. And what a 

 clever man he was, too ! 



I mind Mr. Tomlin and me had to decide a fifty- 

 sovereign match, whether Lord Cardigan or Lord 

 Gardner was the best man in a run. It was from 

 Tilton Wood, and they were together over Burrow 

 Hills and Gartree Hill; then they crossed a dirty 

 lane at top of Burton Lordship ; Lord Cardigan 

 jumped into a haystack place, and had to come back 

 into the lane ; Lord Gardner gained 200 yards there, 

 and never lost it. The hounds ran to Cream Gorse ; 

 Mr. Moore was umpire ; he first asked me, and then 

 Tomlin, what we thought, separate, and then he said, 

 " Well, Gardner, they're both in your favour." What 

 a pity it was Lord Cardigan got into that haystack 

 place ! The hounds didn't kill for six miles after 

 that, but neither of them made a mistake. 



I walk twelve stone I always did but I've ridden 

 many a steeple-chase at twelve stone. I once rode 

 one here in a four-pound saddle, but I didn't try 

 that game twice. I'm a good 'un to waste; you 

 wouldn't think it, though, to look at me, I'm so 

 thick across, and there's not much to come off my 

 legs. That picture of me 's a regular caricature ; 

 the weight's for all the world just in the wrong 

 place. Such a hat, too, they've put on me. 

 Well, I was telling you : I once got off twelve 



